


Wings to Fly

by RealityXIllusion



Series: Adventures of Winged Spencer [1]
Category: Criminal Minds (US TV)
Genre: Ambushing, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Awkwardness, Bigotry & Prejudice, Blood, Discrimination, F/M, Fearing the Unknown, Form of Torture, Gen, Hurt Reid, Hurt/Comfort, No Romance, Over-protective team, Reid feels all alone, Reid has Wings!, Secrets, Spencer needs a hug, William Reid's A+ parenting, Winged!Reid, Winged!Spencer, lying
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-11-25
Updated: 2017-11-25
Packaged: 2019-02-06 17:47:35
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,720
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12822792
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RealityXIllusion/pseuds/RealityXIllusion
Summary: After finishing a case the team was ready to head home, or go out and relax for a bit, Reid was one of the ones on his way back to his apartment when it happened, three hunters ambushed him. He thought they were going to kill him, but no, what they did was much, much worse. They exposed his secret to two members of his team, which led to the others finding out.





	1. Agony in the Night

**Author's Note:**

> I don't own Criminal Minds, and this story is still in it's experimental stages....but please enjoy and let me know what you'd like to see!

Everyone believes that it is physically impossible for humans to have wings. No ones ever seen anything even resembling wings on a human before, which is why they refuse to believe humans could have wings. Now however, things aren't as impossible as they once were; it's never been mentioned to the public but two years before Spencer Reid, son of Diana and William Reid, was born eleven year old Jesse Kirkin despite how young he was had been admitted to a psych ward for 'troubled youth' at St. Ballwin's, where he proceeded to deny all treatments or to even consider he might be wrong. Jesse fervently believed he had wings. It wasn't until three years later that Jesse managed to convince a Doctor he was telling the truth and then showed the Doctor his wings.  
That very same year, one year old Spencer Reid grew wings.  
People learned the truth about Jesse and demanded to see him, or his wings actually. When Doctors and Scientist allowed a press conference to be held with Jesse attending, they thought this was the perfect time to explain a scientific break-through. Instead the moment Jesse stood in front of all those people and showed them his bright, white, wings everyone began to panic. They launched rocks, and anything they could get a hold of at the fourteen year old, just as security got close enough to get Jesse out of there, someone had snatched a security guards gun and shot Jesse in the chest. Most of the security guards and the police, and even the medics did not want to go near Jesse, they saw him as a freak. He was something they did not understand. And they were scared of him.  
Jesse never made it into an ambulance or to a hospital. He died, laying there surrounded by strangers who hated him and wanted him dead. Jesse bled out and once his heart had stopped, he was nothing more than a boy sprawled out on the concrete with white wings spread out around him, and tear tracks going down his face.  
Later that week Jesse was buried after scientist experimented and examined his corpse. There was no funeral, no wake, simply a body buried into the earth. No one came to see him, not even his family who had abandoned him the moment he was sent to St. Ballwin's Psychiatric Hospital.  
Three weeks later 17 year old, Kathleen Claud was reported to authorities by her own parents when they saw her brown wings one morning. Two days after that Jessica Matthews was turned in by her next door neighbor who had seen her red wings through Jessica's bedroom window.  
The authorities weren't taught how to deal with this situation, so of course the Government had taken action. People decided they needed to take action as well. And that's how W.P.A (Winged Protection Authorities) and H.F.W.C (Humanities Fight against Winged Creature) came into existence. of course one was legal while the other was certainly wasn't.  
Seeing all this on the news and hearing story after story of children hunted down whether they actually had wings or were accused of having them, Diana and William Reid knew their son wasn't safe. They moved to Las Vegas, Nevada in a house with a small neighborhood and few neighbors where everyone couldn't care less about the people around them. The only ones the Reid's ever interacted with were the Jenkins, but even then they kept Spencer hidden from them.  
In the next four years 24 other children with ages ranges from 11-18 were found with wings. Over 150 were accused and were hunted down by H.F.W.C where they were then beaten horribly or killed immediately. Not once did Diana or William hear news of a child having wings under the age of 11 or having pure black wings, like Spencer. Those with wings that were found had all sorts of different colors for wings, but only Spencer had black wings, it worried them their son was different even amongst others who stood out like him.  
Now being five years old, Spencer was actually able to control his wings which was a blessing to his parents but it was still to easy for something to startle him and make him loose his concentration causing his wings to reappear, it was also at this age Spencer saw his first dead body which just so happened to be that of his first best friend, the sexually abused and stabbed to death Riley Jenkins.  
It took another two years of stressing over his son's oddities, between his wings, how smart he was, and his wife's deteriorating mental state for William Reid to finally decide that enough was enough. Having one last argument with his wife, William packed his suitcase and left, without so much as a heartfelt goodbye to his seven year old son. That was also when Spencer decided he had to grow up. He had to be the man of the house now and take care of his mother, he had to take over his Daddy's place until his Daddy came back.  
Twenty Years Later~~~  
Spencer Reid hummed quietly under his breath as he stepped off of the metro and began his walk back to his apartment complex. He was more then ready to get home and drop on his bed and sleep the weekend away.  
The last case was hard for them all. Most of all Hotch and JJ who had young children of their own. The UnSub was 37 year old Thomas Fredricks, who began kidnapping children and killing them when they didn't accept his 'affection', thankfully they managed to find and arrest him before he killed his latest victim. Morgan, Emily and Garcia all went out for drinks but JJ, Rossi, Hotch and himself had all headed home for the night.  
Reid tensed but didn't stop walking the moment he felt someone following him. From the sound of their footsteps there was definitely more than one person following him. It could've been a coincidence but considering his line of work, Reid seriously doubted it.  
It was when the footsteps seemed to be getting closer and closer that Reid gave up on trying to pretend nothing was wrong and silently slipped his phone out of his pocket and stared at it briefly wondering, who should he call?  
Hotch?  
No he needed to be with Jack, especially after the last case, the same goes for JJ.  
Morgan, Emily and Garcia were drinking so they probably wouldn't even hear their phone ringing, so that just left...Rossi.  
punching in the number he had memorized the moment it was given to him, Reid held his cell up to his ear and waited as it rang.  
"If there's another case-"  
"Rossi."  
Reid knew in any other situation he wouldn't have cut the man off but something in his voice must had hinted at some point of urgency to the man because Rossi suddenly dropped all previous signs of joking.  
"Reid what's wrong."  
Reid sighed, "I'm on my way home now but there's someone following me. By the sound of the footsteps I'd say three or so people, and they've started speeding up."  
"I'm still in my car, stay on the phone with me. I'll be there shortly okay? And don't panic."  
Reid couldn't help the small chuckle that escaped him, "Rossi I know not to panic. But sur-" Reid cut himself off with a grunt as he felt was he guessed was a rock hit him in the shoulder.  
"Reid?"  
"I-I'm okay...They threw something at me."  
"Reid, is there a populated area nearby you can get to?"  
Reid looked around and realized that no there wasn't anywhere open. All the stores around his neighborhood close early on Fridays.  
"No, all the stores closed early today." Reid let out another grunt along with a small his as something much bigger and harder hit his head.  
"Reid! Reid, you need to get away from there now. Do you have your gun or your badge on you?"  
Before Reid could even try answering Rossi he let out a startled yelp and dropped his cell as he was suddenly tackled to the ground. Distinctively he could hear Rossi screaming his name through the phone and something about Hotch. Maybe he was going to try calling him.  
"Fucking pathetic."  
Reid blinked rapidly to try to clear away the black dots dancing around his eyes and stared at the man leering down at him, straddling his hips.  
"Freak. Think you can just walk around like you fit in? Ha!"  
Looking away from the man on top of him, Reid saw two others standing not to far behind them and his cell was on the ground partially hidden from sight but one look at the screen showed that Rossi was still on the line, listening in. All of them were shorter then him but definitely more muscular and it looked like the one had brass knuckles, and from the slim lump in the others side pocket Reid suspected he had a switchblade.  
"Look at me when I'm speaking!" As though to put emphasis on his point the man aimed a punch at Reid's jaw and struck, one, twice, three times in one go.  
Uncharacteristically Reid smirked at the man, he wasn't sure why but something about this situation was odd and he knew he needed do something to make his attackers uneasy.  
"You fucking winged freak..." The man snarled, his words freezing Reid to the very core, "Making a deal with the devil. I'll teach scum like you what happens when you betray god."  
Reid couldn't help but mentally roll his eyes, of course the guy was a religious fanatic about people with wings. But what worried Reid was how these men knew...apparently his curiosity had shown on his face because next thing he knew the man was climbing off of him and gesturing for the other two to grab ahold of Reid's arms.  
"Flip him over, I want to see his back."  
Reid had to swallow rapidly to keep the bile down, maybe whatever they were throwing at him hit him harder then he had originally thought. Just before either of the other men could lay their hands on him, Reid jerked his leg up kneeing the one man directly in the groin. The man fell back with both hands quickly coming around to cup himself as he hunched over in pain.  
"You little shit!" The other man launched himself onto Reid, effectively pinning him to the ground, Reid arched upwards and tried to knock the man off of him but couldn't as he suddenly began pummeling him in the chest and stomach area repeatedly with his brass knuckles. Reid felt the air get knocked out of him as the first punch took his breath away. The man didn't even hesitate in punching him again and again. Reid let out a strangled gasp/groan when the man aimed at his throat before actually wrapping his meaty hands around it and slowly squeezing.  
Reid struggled. He would never forgive himself if he didn't.  
It was when he was absolutely sure he was about to black out that the man let go. As Reid began to gasp for air, the man flipped him into his stomach and kicked him a few times in the side.  
"Keith, hold 'im down. Jake get the hell up already." The man who had first tackled Reid down snapped. Both men rushed to do as they were told.  
The one who Reid assumed was Jake grabbed his arm and held it up in the air before snatching Keith's brass knuckles and using them to hit Reid's forearm over and over again until a loud, sickening crack! echoed around them. Unable to help it, Reid screamed the moment he felt the bone in his arm snap and grind together as Jake pressed his arm down onto the ground.  
Jake took one hand and tilted Reid's head to the side to look him in the eyes, "That's for kneeing me you fucking shit."  
Reid took the opportunity to spit in Jake's face and said, "Is your vocabulary really only limited to curse words? I guess that's to be expected of idiots. Who else would attack someone in front of a Walmart by the streetlight?" Reid could only hope he said that loud enough for Rossi, who he really hoped was and wasn't still listening in.  
Growling Jake grabbed a fistful of Reid's hair, lifted his head up and slammed it down onto the sidewalk. It was as his ears were ringing that Reid saw the only unnamed man walk towards him and straddle him once again, only this time from behind.  
"You know...there's this neat little trick not many know about..."  
Reid did not like the sound of that once bit.  
Reid tensed the moment he felt the man slip his hand under his shirt and slowly push his shirt up until his entire back was exposed, the man began kneading his knuckles into Reid's back, sort of like how a masseuse would.  
"The trick is..." The man leaned forward and whispered into Reid's ear, "You creatures may be able to hide your wings...but one press between your shoulder blades forces them out with or without your permission."  
The squealing of tires didn't seemed to startle Keith and Jake but the one still feeling around Reid's back was unfazed, the following of a second pair of tires screeching to a stop seemed to be enough for Jake who got up and ran like his ass was on fire.  
"FREEZE! This is SSA David Rossi and SSA Aaron Hotchner of the FBI."  
"Put your hands up and back away from him. Now."  
Dimly aware of what was happening around him, Reid was surprised Hotch was there, but then remembered he lived closer to him then any of the others and Rossi did mention something about Hotch...knowing he probably had a concussion Reid blamed that for his lack of movement, and the fact that the man sitting on his wasn't exactly light. Reid could only watch as Keith suddenly stood and charged right at Hotch but was almost immediately gunned down and was now lying motionless in the middle of the street.  
Reid saw Rossi staring at him while Hotch glared at the man on top of him, both their guns were still drawn and aimed at the man who had yet to look over at Hotch or Rossi. Instead the man leaned down once more and whispered in Reid's ear, "I wonder what'll happen when they see what you really are..."  
"GET OFF OF HIM!" Hotch yelled, finally losing his patience as had Rossi who wanted to do nothing more then shoot the man and pull him off of Reid already.  
Finally acknowledging Hotch and Rossi the man sat up and stared at them as he calmly said, "I cannot. Not until this freak is dead. I'd much rather burn him but I can't exactly do that here, now can I?"  
The man's sudden calmness did nothing to ease the unease Hotch and Rossi suddenly felt. It was even worse when the man grinned victoriously at them as he pressed hard onto Reid's back and the next moment...something...erupted from Reid's back startling the both of them so badly they almost dropped their guns. Whatever had come from Reid's back blocked the man from sight just long enough for him to pull what looked like...a very sharp metal back scratcher which he then used on the things coming from Reid's back, tearing into them and causing Reid to scream in agony. Jumping into action Rossi and Hotch ran towards the both of them and Hotch tackled the man off of Reid and slammed him into the ground, leaving Rossi to tend to Reid.  
The man struggled, and began yelling at Hotch even going as far as to clock him upside the head and then kneeing him in the side to push him off of him. Hotch grunted as the man scrambled away from him, he was startled however when the man leaped for Hotch's gun, which was knocked aside during the struggle and lifted it up to the side of his own head. The man grinned at Hotch and said, "Spencer Reid's last days are amongst us." And then, he pulled the trigger.  
Hotch didn't bother watching as the man crumpled to the ground, instead he rushed to Rossi's side who was standing there staring down at Reid in Shock. Hotch was confused until he was what Rossi was staring at, then he was frozen in shock as well.  
It wasn't...things on Reid's back. It was wings. Large, Tattered, Black wings.  
Suddenly, everything just became a thousand times more complicated.


	2. Secrets

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Help's arrived, now if only Reid would accept it and not have a panic attack in the process...

"Dave, we need to get him to the hospital." Hotch finally managed to say, but he still couldn't bring himself to look away from those black...black wings on his subordinates back. Not receiving a response Hotch forced himself to look away and over at the man next to him. Rossi looked...horrified. Of what, Hotch wasn't sure but he knew the man needed to snap out of it now, Reid was still Reid...somewhat...and he needed them. "Dave!" Hotch leaned over a bit and nudged his friend's shoulder.  
Rossi visibly shook his head as though shaking away whatever he had been thinking about, "Aaron...we can't call 911."  
"What?" Now all of Hotch's attention was effectively on Rossi, "Why not?"  
"Aaron you know as well as I do how people with wings are treated. The police and any doctors? They wont have the kids best interest in mind."  
"M'fine..."  
Rossi and Hotch both leapt back, startled, as Reid's previously still form began shaking from exhaustion as he struggled to push himself up to his knees with his wings falling limply to his sides. Even from where they stood they could see the blood running down the mangled feathers.  
Even seeing how much energy Reid was clearly loosing, neither stepped forwards to help him. Though they loathed to admit it, they were wary of getting near him, and didn't that thought just sicken them to the core.  
Reid hissed and arched his back slightly, his wings twitched and stretched out just a tad bit before suddenly trembling violently and vanishing from sight right before Hotch and Rossi's eyes, once gone Reid collapsed to the ground unconscious, his head smacking against the concrete before either of them could do a thing.  
Once more Reid managed to shock the both of them that night, but he did just make things a hell of a lot easier for all of them.  
"I'll call the cops, and an ambulance." Rossi finally said, moving off to the side to do just that.  
Hotch on the other hand kneeled down next to Reid and carefully began slipping his shirt off, it wouldn't do any good for the medics to arrive and see two huge slits in the back of Reid's shirt where his...his wings had burst out.  
Reid let out a low whine and struggled feebly to get away from Hotch's touch.  
"Shh...Shh," Hotch shushed, "Reid you're alright it's me, it's Hotch. I'm just trying to help okay? You're going to be alright."  
If anything Reid only began to squirm even more, trying to get away from Hotch which confused the older man until he looked down and saw Reid's half lidded eyes staring at him in fear. Seeing the fear in his youngest subordinates eyes, especially directed at him made Hotch feel sick to his stomach.  
"Reid..." Hotch swallowed, "Reid it's okay. I promise...I...won't let anything happen to you okay? This changes nothing."  
Despite how much emotion Hotch tried to convey in those few words, Reid continued to look at him as though Hotch were the one about to hurt him, not those men from before.  
"Aaron the Ambulance is on the way." Rossi said, walking back towards them. And Hotch knew it was true, he could hear the ambulance and the cops getting closer. Out of the corner of his eye Hotch saw Reid try to squirm away the moment Rossi came near and he knew Rossi saw it as well considering how he pointedly stepped back.  
"...No..."  
"What?" Hotch turned his head to look at Reid fully.  
"...No am'ulance...m'fine..."  
"Reid," Rossi started but stopped the moment Reid flinched upon hearing his voice.  
"Please...leave..."  
Hotch cleared his throat and was not ashamed to admit that it hurt to still see the fear in Reid's eyes when he looked at them but it hurt even more that Reid wanted them to go away. All of them were saved from having to say anything else as the ambulance arrived and the EMT's all but flung themselves into action. Quicker then either of them thought possible, Reid was loaded onto a gurney and put into the back of the ambulance with Hotch and Rossi left standing there.  
"Ah, hold up a minute! I'm riding with the ambulance okay?" Rossi quickly explained to Hotch before hurrying over to jump into the back of the ambulance.  
Hotch nodded to himself and got back into his car to head back to headquarters knowing he'd have to explain things and calm everything down before it all got out of hand...and do something about Reid's torn shirt he was still holding tightly. Sighing, Hotch drove off in the opposite direction than the ambulance and regrettably knew he'd have to call the rest of the team, and explain everything to Strauss without getting Reid in any trouble...maybe the team could wait until tomorrow to be called.  
The ride in the ambulance wasn't quiet whatsoever. The moment Rossi got in the back of the ambulance the lighting with Reid bare from the torso up on the stretcher was a sight Rossi didn't think he'd ever forget. The blood stood out against Reid's pale complexion, along with dark bruises spread across his skin. Rossi blamed the poor lighting in the alleyway for not noticing all the wounds covering Reid's body, especially his arm. Dimly Rossi wondered how Reid managed to push himself up on a broken arm but the thought was quickly washed away when he remembered how neither he nor Hotch made any move to help him sit up when it was clear he was struggling.  
Rossi snapped out of it when the EMT's began yelling {okay so maybe they weren't yelling but they were being pretty damn loud} different things to one another about Reid's condition and how they were almost at the hospital.  
Rossi listened to them best as he could but he was distracted with looking back at Reid who looked like he would like nothing better than to be as far away from Rossi as humanely possible. Slowly Rossi reached out and despite the flinch he got at the movement, he gently took Reid's hand in his own and squeezed softly.  
"You're gonna be just fine." Rossi said, even he was put off at how gruff he sounded, "Hotch and I will take care of everything. You just rest okay?"  
Reid looked...confused. Like he wasn't sure how to react. Rossi didn't mind, at least Reid had stopped staring at him with those damn terrified puppy eyes. Sighing to himself, Rossi settled back into the bench or whatever the hell they were called.  
He had a feeling things were about to change for all of them, but he couldn't decide if it was for the better or worse.  
The moment they were at the local hospital Rossi found himself sitting in the waiting room with no recollection of getting there. All he could really focus on at the moment was staring down at his hands as he sat in the most uncomfortable plastic chair he's every been in.  
He had no idea how long he sat there waiting for news on Reid's condition. It startled him. He was the newest member (so to speak) on the team and at first he didn't really give a damn about teamwork or even being a part of the team, but now here he was in the hospital so worried for the youngest team member that he was scared he'd while up with entirely bald hair or bald by the end of the night.  
"Dr. Reid?"  
Rossi's head snapped up to stare at the female doctor standing just a few feet away. Standing quickly, Rossi realized she was awaiting a response. "I'm David Rossi. I mean I'm here for Spencer Reid."  
The Doctor stared at him skeptically as she asked, "Are you related to Dr. Reid? Only family and those on his medical list are allowed in at the moment."  
"Ma'am I am family." Rossi said politely, but that didn't stop the glare from being sent at the Doctor.  
"...I'm really only supposed to inform family...there's a Diana Reid on our list and a William Reid but no David Rossi."  
"His mothers in a mental hospital and his dad's out of the damn picture!" Rossi snapped, normally he'd try smooth talking but he was still unnerved from earlier.  
"I..." The Doctor bit her lip and sighed, "Alright. My names Dr. Shane. The injuries Dr. Reid received were worrying to say the least. Not only were four of his ribs bruised and two cracked but there are signs of multiple blows to the head which is the cause for Dr. Reid's concussion. He has a fracture in his arm, The forearm contains two bones called the Radius and the Ulna, Dr. Reid's Ulna is fractured. Both extend from the elbow to the wrist but the Ulna is on the same side as his pinky. Dr. Reid is awake, and he's already told me everything that's happened. Or he wrote it down actually."  
Pausing quickly for breath, Dr. Shane went on, "There will definitely be some swelling, and his movement in that are will be limited, he refuses any type of pain medicine I've offered other than the non-narcotic kind. We will be putting a cast around his forearm and in about six weeks he can come in to get it removed. Afterwards it could take up to six months of rehabilitation exercises for him to rebuild muscles and his strength in his arm. He also has some nasty bruises around his wrists, neck and hips."  
"His hips?" Rossi echoed his mind flashing back to how he and Hotch had found the man straddling Reid in that alleyway.  
"There are no signs of rape if that is what you're thinking Mr. Rossi." Dr. Shane said quickly but calmly.  
When Rossi nodded showing that he had heard what she's said, she continued speaking,  
"The bruises around his neck, more specifically the hand bruises around his neck are the worse ones other than the ones on his ribs. So don't worry if he doesn't speak to you right away or to anyone really. It might be best for him to have soft foods, something easy on the throat and doesn't take much effort in chewing. He'll need to ice all the bruises to reduce swelling, I'll write a list of everything that needs to be done and what to watch out for."  
"R-Right." Rossi nodded, overwhelmed by the sudden spew of information, "You said he's awake? May I see him?"  
"He's specifically requested that no one may visit him Mr. Rossi." Dr. Shane sighed, "I'll tell him yo were here, but despite telling you of his condition I cannot allow you to see him unless he wishes for you too."  
"What?" Rossi said frowning, "He was just jumped!"  
"I'm aware of what's happened, and I assure you he is as well."  
"The-"  
"No means no Mr. Rossi." Dr. Shane said sternly, "Now I'm sorry, but have a nice night."  
Rossi could only watch as Dr. Shane walked off before he could say anything else, sighing he turned and walked down the hallway to go outside. Stepping out into the suddenly colder air Rossi pulled out his cell. He knew what he had to do.  
He had to call Hotch.


End file.
